Heywood & Middleton Election 2015 - Live Commentary - Liz McInnes retains her seat

Labour Liz McInnes (Elected) 20926
UKIP John Joseph Bickley 15627
Conservative Iain Brian Gartside 9268
Liberal Democrat Anthony J Smith 1607
Green Abi Jackson 1110

3.57am Liz McInnes retains her seat with over 20,000 votes.

3.44am Labour applauding in the hall.

3.31am Labour look to be in the lead.

3.13am Liz McInnes is not giving any comment to the media before the result is announced.

The turnout at the last General Election in 2010 for the constituency was 58%. In the October by-election the turnout was 36%.

2.43am Turnout in Heywood & Middleton Parliamentary election is 60.85%.

2.26am It looks like a race between UKIP and Labour in all wards.

2.23am UKIP look to be leading in Middleton South.

2.16am Hoping for a result at 3.30am.

2.14am Liz McInnes, Labour candidate has just arrived.

2.13am All wards are now being counted.

2.10am Middleton West looks to be UKIP and Labour, looks too close to call.

2.09am Counts are happening in five wards.

2.07am Counting has now also started in West Heywood and North Heywood wards.

2.01am Count has started with West Middleton ward.

1.56am Liz McInnes, Labour candidate has still not arrived.

1.49am Verification looks to be coming to an end, count doesn't seem far off. A result time is not yet known.

1.09am John Bickley, UKIP candidate said: "I have done three Parliamentary elections in 18 months and I have learnt not to get ahead of the count. I don't think people are telling the polls what they want so we really don't know how it's going to go. If you go back to 2010, UKIP didn't exist and the support we have had has been brilliant. People forget that here, the Conservatives and Lib Dems have a fair share of the votes so it will be interesting to see how they vote and how that goes."

12.47am John Bickley, UKIP candidate has arrived.

12.43am Council sources are hoping the count should start in 30 minutes.

12.36am Chris Furlong, Labour Party member said: "I think it is going well so far and I think we have a good chance in Heywood West."

12.32am Conservative candidate Iain Gartside has arrived but is refusing to comment at this time.

12.30am Ian Duckworth, Conservative Party member said: "I think there is a lot of tactical voting this time around as people are voting UKIP to keep Labour out."

12.06am UKIP Party member Warren Mitchell said: "Whether we win it tonight or not, it will be close. The support we have had has been overwhelming and has built since the by-election. The response has been great. Building to 2020, UKIP won't go away."

11.31pm Abi Jackson, Green Party candidate said: "This campaign has been as manic as it was in October. We don't have anything to compare it to because we have only stood as a party once before. If we could get 5% then that would be brilliant. We have given people the chance to vote Green and by the looks of things, people have taken us up on that."

11.10pm The final ballot boxes have arrived.

11.02pm Anthony Smith, Liberal Democrat candidate said: "It has been an enjoyable journey, I'm hoping we can build on the vote from the by-election. I'm going to keep doing what I am doing and keep giving people a reason to vote Lib Dem and will continue to work hard after the election."

10.57pm Candidates are starting to arrive.

10.30pm Ballot papers are being verified.

10.12pm Labour and Conservative Party members are observing the counters.

10.11pm Ballot papers are being checked by counters.

10.07pm The polls have closed and the first ballot boxes are arriving at Heywood Sports Village.

The Sports Hall in Heywood Sports Village is set up, with counters and staff ready and waiting for the ballot boxes arrive.

The candidates in today's election are:
John Joseph Bickley (UKIP)
Iain Brian Gartside (Conservative)
Abigail Louise Jackson (Green Party)
Liz McInnes (Labour)
Anthony J Smith (Liberal Democrat)